Upon arriving at SMU last fall, I got caught up in the hype that SMU’s once proud football program would restore its tradition as a Conference USA force and finally make it to a bowl game after nearly two decades of insignificance. We went 6-6 in 2006, and I felt we were on the cusp of a bowl bid. I geared up for the annual game against Texas Tech like nothing before in my sports viewing life.
Coming from Oregon, I only attended the University of Oregon football games by virtue of knowing people with season tickets, and I really couldn’t explain the feeling of finally supporting a college team I paid $40,000 to see. There is just something about supporting a team from a school you attend. Once halftime commenced, however, I like so many others, got on my feet, walked up the stairs to the concessions area, proceeded through Gate Six, nodded and smiled when the kind lady standing there told me under no circumstances would I be readmitted to the game and walked to Umphrey Lee to eat lunch.
I know what you’re thinking: “This guy writes about sports, but doesn’t even fully attend SMU football games?” Your judgment is fair and I deserve your criticism, but this column is not about SMU football. This column, instead, is about a conversation I had following the loss to Tech.
I was discussing SMU football and the team’s chances of improving when I wondered aloud if SMU should concentrate on the basketball program instead.
The truth is, I didn’t give up on SMU football. I commend Coach Jones on building something that will improve and should be great in the future; instead however, I’m making the observation that schools like SMU, private schools that put academics first, rarely crack the Top 25 college football weekly rankings. SMU faces stringent academic standards that make recruiting top high school prospects harder for then, say, Texas Tech. Nothing against Tech’s academics, but, “we’re not snobs, we’re just better than you!” In the interests of bringing a winning culture to SMU, therefore, the university should invest heavily in the basketball program because college basketball can more easily become winning program.
College football is dominated by schools you probably considered “safe” schools when you were applying to college. The current Top 25 BCS rankings consist of only four academics first private schools: USC, BYU, that school in cow town, and Miami. Of those schools, only USC and Miami are considered college football powerhouses, and only USC has a real chance of winning the National Championship. College football’s top schools are state schools with around 20,000 or more undergrad students to select from and fill a competitive roster. SMU is at a disadvantage; we will never admit close to 20,000 students, because as a small private school SMU is more selective than most, if not all, public schools.
The college basketball rankings present a much different story. College basketball’s AP Top 25 rankings currently include ten private schools similar to SMU: Notre Dame, Gonzaga, Duke, Marquette, Miami, USC, Wake Forest, Davidson, Georgetown and Villanova. In addition to these schools, many other private schools are on the edge of being ranked in the AP poll. All ten of those schools admit less than 10,000 students, and consider themselves “academics first” private schools like SMU.
SMU will easily break through in college basketball because the Division I NCAA College Basketball Tournament allows a bigger field of competition than the BCS, and the smaller size of basketball rosters allows teams from private schools to field competitive rosters despite the stringent admissions standards. Both of these factors played a role in bringing schools like Gonzaga to national prominence. I believe SMU can follow this model in time.
Head coach Matt Doherty built the National Championship team at UNC by recruiting Sean May and Raymond Felton. May and Felton are currently in the NBA. While SMU doesn’t have the tradition UNC does, Doherty has an eye for talent that will benefit SMU’s basketball team and bring success on the hardwood. In order for SMU to follow Gonzaga’s model, SMU just needs to string together a couple winning seasons, find itself in the NCAA Tournament and gain a little national recognition. Then recruits will come fast and steady. Considering SMU sports, is it more unrealistic to hope for the basketball program to accomplish this feat than the football team to accomplish what is necessary to become significant? I think not.
With basketball season starting tonight in Moody and the football season winding down, I encourage the SMU student body to support our athletics, especially our basketball program. The team is young and improving under Coach Doherty, and could be SMU’s best opportunity for possessing a winning sports program. Let’s start Moody Magic!
Derek Sangston is a junior political science and pre-law double major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
